Overlay for half-tone printing.



J. B. NEALE. OVERLAY FOR HALE TONE PRINTING.

APPLICATWN FILED AUG.14,1915.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

'UNHED sirarus raruur; curios.

JOHN B. NEALE, or BATTLE annex, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB, or ONE-HALF TO ram)W,

GAGE, or BATTLE REEK, MICHIGAN.

OVERLAY FOR HALF-TONE PRINTING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

} Application filed August 14, 1915. Serial No. 45,580.. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. NEALE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ()verlaysfor Half- Tone Printing and I hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact de: scription thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention or discovery relates to the art ofprinting, and hasparticular reference to the producing of fine high grade illustrated-work commonly called half-tone printing; and the object of the presentinyention is to enable such half-tone printing to be effected in asuperior manner, and to be successfully produced upon grades of paper,such as uncoated book paper and ordinary newspaper stock, which it hasheretofore been considered impractical to use for such printing; but myinvention will enable excellent results to be produced from ordinaryhalf-tone cuts on the commonest grade of newspaper stock.

Another object is to reduce the amount of labor, time and skill requiredin making ready the press for such kind of printing, and to enablesuperior half-tone printing to be-produced on ordinary presses.

The principal and basic feature of my invention or discovery is that bymaking or providing overlays with a measurably yielding cushioned orresilient surface, as compared with the hard. unyielding overlaysheretofore employed, greatly superior results are obtained in printing,such results being primarily due to the said resilient or cushionsurface of the overlay.

The invention or discovery may be practically utilized in two ways asfollows:

First, by providing any of the ordinary known makes of overlays with aresilient or cushioning surface, which may, as applied to such overlays,be formed of a thin sheet 0f soft rubber vulcanized, or of an equivalentcushioning material, applied over the face of the overlay; so that all,the points and shades of gradations of pressure which would beordinarily caused by the overlay cushioning surface noticeablycompensates for any minute surface irregularities in the paper ormaterial being printed, which a hard unyielding surface overlay couldnot do, and this cushioning or compensating quality of theoverlay isparticularly important when printlng poor grades of paper,

such as newspaper. Such a resilient surface or sheet may be attacheddirectly tothe Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

overlay by any suitable means.'or it may be attached to the cylinderpacking directly opposite the overlay so as to be properly positionedrelative thereto. Where a yielding cushion surface, such as rubber, isapplied to a metallic or other hard overlay, it may be attached theretoby vulcanizing or by means of paste, glue, cement or other'adhesive,provided that same will not interfere with or prevent the desiredresiliency of the surface of the overlay. Such a resilient or yieldingcushioning surface is applicable to many of the commonly used forms ofmake-ready, such as the Gilbert Harris metallic, the so-called chalkprocess, the Bierstadt-De Vinne, or even the hand-cut paper overlay. Theinvention when so utilized combines an element of surface resiliency orcushioning with the known forms of hard make-ready usually employed, andwill produce superior and hitherto unattainable effects from half-toneplates uponcheap grades of newspaper, or rough-surfaced papers, uponwhich paper it has previously been impossible to produce impressions ofthe artistic character and quality produced by the use of my invention,it having heretofore been an accepted maxim of the trade that highlysurfaced paper is v lays to crack, bend, or emboss the paper beingprinted. I

Second: The invention may be utilized by making the overlay itself ofresilient or cushioning material, such asrubber. Such an overlay can beproduced in the following manner. An inked proof is. taken from theoriginal half-tone plate from which-it is intended to print, and whilefresh is given a coating of bronze, or other suitable finely dividedopaque powder. This proof is then used as a negative for printing uponthe sensitized surface of a metal plate (properly is then made from saidetched plate in the usual way by pressure and heat, by any suitablemeans, and vulcanized sufficiently firm or hard to retain the desiredgradations and toning effects of an overlay, but retaining in itselfsutiicient resilience or yielding properties to give the desiredcushioning effect. In use the overlay provided with a resilientcushioned surface, or the integral resilient cushioned overlay abovereferred to, is placed upon the cylinder or platen of the press-just asan ordinary overlay would be placed. The superior. results obtained inprinting by using my invention are due to the yielding or cushioningnature of the surface of the overlay, and not to any novelty in theplacing of the overlay in the press, or novelty in the mode ,ofoperating the press after the overlay is in position.

The ordinary overlays are usually buried under a varying number ofsheets of tympan paper, but I have found that this is not essentialwhenusing my invention; that is,-were it not for the liability ofmechanical injury overlays embodying my invention might be placed on.top of the tympan sheets and still be effective for some classes ofwork. The rubber sheet or cushioning surface is most effective whenplaced in contact with the hard overlay which it cushions; so that itwill transmit directly the varying pressure which the overlay isintended to give.

,Upon some classes of printing it might be expedient to interpose moreor less tympan paper between the rubber-surfaced overlay and thematerial to be printed. to obviate any tendency to over-effect. This iscommon practice with any ordinary make-ready,

and in my invention the resilient or cushioned surface when used incombination with hard make-ready will produce the de-. sired effects.Though preferably placed in that position, the cushioning surface doesnot of necessity have to be in direct contact with the hard overlay.Should the hard overlay be found insuliicient a patch sheetorauXiliary'overlay would naturally be fitted directly upon the originalhard overlay as usual in order that the augmented pressure would beplaced exactly where desired.

- Pressmen will readily understand the many factors which enter into theproduction of a perfectly printed sheen-which may require minor changesof make-ready which do not alter the underlying principle of theinvention. The resilient or cushioning surface is therefor subject tosuch variations of position and hardness as will produce thebestresults, as there is no fixed degree of resiliency or resistancethat will yield unvarying results upon all classes of printing.

ith such novel overlays I am able to produce beautiful high-gradehalf-tone printess of lithography now employed where fine illustrationsmust be shown. upon bond or ledger papers upon which it has hithertobeen considered impossible to print success fully half-tone work.

I have conventionally illustrated an overlay embodying the invention andone method of using same in the accompanying drawings; in which Figure lis'a face View of an overlay 3 with a resilient cushioning surface d;and Fig. 2 is a detail sectional elevation showing how such an overlayis ordinarily an ranged when in position for use.

In said drawings the parts are greatly magnified and distorted tofacilitate a ready comprehension thereof.

1 designates part of the cylinder or platen; 2 the packing, 3 theoverlay and 4: the resilient or yielding surface or sheet superposed onsaid overlay; 5 the tympan and 6 the draw sheet, this arrangement beingsuch as is customarily employed on cylinders preparatory to printing.

The'heavily shaded portions a, b, c, in the example Fig. 1 indicatewhere the heaviest pressure is imparted through the correspondingportions (1', Z), 0, of the overlay, Fig. 2; and the shaded portions d,e, Fig. 1 show where medium pressure is imparted through thecorresponding portions 01, e of the overlay Fig. 2..

I do not herein claim the integral or selfcontained resilient cushioningoverlay, as that forms the subject-matter of a companion application.

What I claim is:

1. For use in producing high-grade halftone printing, an overlayprovided with a resilient or cushioning surface.

2i For producing high-grade half-tone printing upon ordinary newspaperstock, an overlay having a resilient surface formed of cushioningmaterial.

3. For producing high-grade half-tone printing upon ordinary newspaperstock, an (fwerlay having a resilient cushioning surace.

4. An overlay, having a cushioning surface of rubber.-

5. An overlay comprising a hard body and a surface of resilientcushioning material, substantially as described.

6. An overlay for the purpose specified, comprising a hard body and asurface formed by a sheet of resilient cushioning material,substantially as described.

' 7. In combination, an overlay and a re Silient cushioning sheet orsurface opposite the face of the overlay adapted to transmit the varyingpressure which the overlay is intended to give, substantially asdescribed.

8. In combination, an overlay and a resilient sheet of suitablematerial, operatively of the overlay for the purpose and substan-'tially as specified.

10. In combination, a hard overlay and a thin resilient sheet orcushioning surface of suitable material operatively positioned oppositethe face of the overlay to transmit the;

varying pressure Which the overlay is intended to give. 7

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, Iafiix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

p JOHN B. NEALE. Witnesses I FRED' W. GAGE, THERESA T.- GIBBONS,

